Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council retaining a photograph of his property. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office is the appropriate body to consider his complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains a contractor, acting on behalf of the Council, photographed his property following a report that a refuse skip was blocking the public highway. Mr X is unhappy the photograph has been kept, despite the contractor accepting no offence had been committed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information he provided. I also gave Mr X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on his complaint.

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What I found

5. Mr X says a contractor, acting on behalf of the Council, photographed his property following a report that a skip was blocking the public highway. Mr X says the contractor has accepted there was no obstruction, but it has retained the photograph on its systems.
6. The ICO is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights. It promotes openness by public bodies and protects the privacy of individuals. It deals with complaints about public authorities’ failures to comply with data protection legislation. This includes holding personal information in error and a failure to delete information that is no longer needed.
7. There is no charge for making a complaint to the ICO, and its complaints procedure is relatively easy to use. Where someone has a complaint about data protection, the Ombudsman usually expects them to bring the matter to the attention of the ICO.
8. I consider the ICO to be in a much better position than the Ombudsman to consider Mr X’s complaint. It can decide if the Council’s contractor is wrong to retain the photograph of Mr X’s property. The ICO has much wider powers than the Ombudsman to act if it finds the contractor has failed in its duties as a data controller. Mr X should therefore complain to the ICO, because it is the appropriate body to deal with his concerns.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office is the appropriate body to consider his concerns.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman